Insight Bureau:  The Union Government is planning to acquire overriding powers to transfer IAS officers through Central deputation.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has recently proposed changes in the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954, which will take away the States’ power to override the Centre’s request for seeking officers on central deputation.

In a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all State Governments the DoPT said that the states are not sponsoring an adequate number of officers for Central deputation and the number of officers is not sufficient to meet the requirement.

The State Governments have been asked to furnish their comments on the proposed changes by January 25, 2022.

As of now, a total of six States including West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Meghalaya and Maharashtra have written to the DoPT opposing the rules.

Proposed Changes includes:

➡️ Wherever the state government concerned does not give effect to the Central government’s decision within the specified time, the officer(s) shall stand relieved from cadre from the date as may be specified by the Centre.

➡️ Central government needs to utilise the vast field experience of the officer(s) by providing vital inputs for policy planning and formulation.

➡️ Every cadre a States and Union Territories is allowed a central deputation reserve to ensure that officers have the opportunity to work on deputation.

Main Causes of propsed Changes:

Non-availability of sufficient number of officers at the Centre is affecting the functioning of the Central government.